1 And in the second year of the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed
dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and
his sleep brake from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the
magicians , and the astrologers, and the
sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the
king his dreams. So they came and stood
before the king .
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed
a dream , and my spirit was troubled to know
the dream .
4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in
Syriack, O king , live for ever: tell thy servants
the dream , and we will shew the
interpretation.
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans,
The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make
known unto me the dream, with the
interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in
pieces , and your houses shall be made a
dunghill.
6 But if ye shew the dream , and the
interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me
gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore
shew me the dream, and the interpretation
thereof.
7 They answered again and said, Let the king
tell his servants the dream , and we will shew
the interpretation of it.
8 The king answered and said, I know of
certainty that ye would gain the time, because
ye see the thing is gone from me.
9 But if ye will not make known unto me the
dream , there is but one decree for you: for ye
have prepared lying and corrupt words to
speak before me, till the time be changed:
therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know
that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king,
and said, There is not a man upon the earth
that can shew the king's matter: therefore
there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked
such things at any magician, or astrologer , or
Chaldean.
11 And it is a rare thing that the king
requireth, and there is none other that can
shew it before the king, except the gods,
whose dwelling is not with flesh .
12 For this cause the king was angry and very
furious, and commanded to destroy all the
wise men of Babylon .
13 And the decree went forth that the wise
men should be slain; and they sought Daniel
and his fellows to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and
wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's
guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise
men of Babylon :
15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's
captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the
king? Then Arioch made the thing known to
Daniel .
16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king
that he would give him time, and that he would
shew the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made
the thing known to Hananiah , Mishael, and
Azariah, his companions:
18 That they would desire mercies of the God
of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel
and his fellows should not perish with the rest
of the wise men of Babylon .
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in
a night vision . Then Daniel blessed the God of
heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the
name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom
and might are his:
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons :
he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he
giveth wisdom unto the wise , and knowledge to
them that know understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he
knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light
dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God
of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and
might, and hast made known unto me now
what we desired of thee: for thou hast now
made known unto us the king's matter.
24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch,
whom the king had ordained to destroy the
wise men of Babylon : he went and said thus
unto him; Destroy not the wise men of
Babylon : bring me in before the king, and I
will shew unto the king the interpretation.
25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the
king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have
found a man of the captives of Judah , that will
make known unto the king the interpretation.
26 The king answered and said to Daniel,
whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to
make known unto me the dream which I have
seen, and the interpretation thereof?
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the
king, and said, The secret which the king hath
demanded cannot the wise men, the
astrologers, the magicians , the soothsayers,
shew unto the king;
28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth
secrets, and maketh known to the king
Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter
days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head
upon thy bed, are these;
29 As for thee, O king , thy thoughts came into
thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to
pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets
maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to
me for any wisdom that I have more than any
living, but for their sakes that shall make
known the interpretation to the king, and that
thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great
image. This great image, whose brightness was
excellent, stood before thee; and the form
thereof was terrible.
32 This image's head was of fine gold , his
breast and his arms of silver , his belly and his
thighs of brass,
33 His legs of iron , his feet part of iron and
part of clay .
34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out
without hands, which smote the image upon
his feet that were of iron and clay , and brake
them to pieces .
35 Then was the iron, the clay , the brass, the
silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together,
and became like the chaff of the summer
threshingfloors; and the wind carried them
away, that no place was found for them: and
the stone that smote the image became a great
mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream ; and we will tell the
interpretation thereof before the king .
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the
God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom,
power, and strength, and glory .
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell,
the beasts of the field and the fowls of the
heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath
made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this
head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom
inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of
brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as
iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and
subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh
all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes,
part of potters' clay, and part of iron , the
kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in
it of the strength of the iron , forasmuch as
thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay .
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of
iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be
partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with
miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with
the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one
to another, even as iron is not mixed with
clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God
of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never
be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it
shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone
was cut out of the mountain without hands,
and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass,
the clay , the silver, and the gold ; the great
God hath made known to the king what shall
come to pass hereafter: and the dream is
certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his
face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded
that they should offer an oblation and sweet
odours unto him.
47 The king answered unto Daniel , and said, Of
a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods,
and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and
gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler
over the whole province of Babylon , and chief
of the governors over all the wise men of
Babylon .
49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he
set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego , over
the affairs of the province of Babylon : but
Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
|
|